Pages

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Cuban-Style Black Bean Soup

This Cuban-style black bean soup is particularly tasty and nutritious. And you can make a vegan version, so no one gets left out in the cold.

Recipe: Cuban-Style Black Bean Soup

There are hundreds of recipes for black-bean soup. Cuban-style recipes tend to use green bell pepper as an ingredient. They also finish with a bit of vinegar, which adds crispness and acidity.

We use chicken stock in this recipe, but it’s easy to substitute water or vegetable stock for a vegan version. Or if you want a different meat-take, try ham stock.

We use dried black beans for this soup, which need to be soaked – preferably overnight. (But see the Notes if you prefer to use canned beans). Once the beans are soaked, this recipe requires about 20 minutes of prep time, plus about 1½ hours cooking time (largely unattended).

This recipe yields a big batch – at least 10 servings (depending on how much liquid you add). Leftovers freeze well.

The night before you want to make the soup, soak the beans: Sort through the black beans to remove any dirt or grit. Place the beans in a bowl and cover them with cold water by at least 3 inches. Allow the beans to sit overnight.

When ready to make the soup, drain the beans and add them to a 4-quart cooking pot. Add 6 cups of stock or water. Bring the beans to a simmer, then set a timer for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the onion and chop it into dice of about ½ inch. Set aside.

Wash the bell pepper, core it, and chop it into dice of about ½ inch. Set aside.

Wash the jalapeño peppers and cut them lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the ribs and seeds (careful – the oil on these is hot, so avoid touching your eyes). Cut the jalapeño peppers into fine dice and set aside. Then wash your hands with soap and water to remove the hot oil from your skin.

Peel the garlic and cut it into thin slices or mince it finely. Set aside.

Place the oil in a frying pan and heat it. When hot (it’ll shimmer), add the chopped onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño pepper. Add salt to taste. Cook until the onion is translucent and soft (5 to 8 minutes). Add the chopped garlic, and cook for an additional minute or two.

Set the onion mixture aside until the 45-minute timer goes off (from Step 2). When it does, scrape the onion mixture into the cooking pot with the black beans. Add the cumin, coriander, and oregano. Add more water or stock if needed. Set a timer for another 45 minutes. After the soup has been cooking for a few minutes, taste it and add more salt if necessary. If you’re using the optional rice garnish, start cooking the rice now (cook according to package directions; set aside if it’s finished before the soup).

When the second 45-minute timer goes off (from Step 8), test the black beans for doneness. They should be soft. If not, cook until they are.

Right before serving, add the cooked rice (if using) to the cooking pot. Add a tablespoon of vinegar and stir it in. Taste the soup, then add another tablespoon of vinegar if necessary.

Ladle the soup into serving bowls, adding a slice of jalapeño pepper to each bowl as garnish if you wish. We usually put a bottle of hot sauce (such as Tabasco) on the table for those who want to add more heat to their soup.

Cuban Black Bean Soup without rice garnish

Notes

Want to use canned beans instead of dried? Use three 15-ounce cans. Drain the beans into a large colander, then rinse them to remove the gunk they’re stored in. Sauté the onions, peppers, and garlic as directed in Step 7. Then add the onion mixture to a large cooking pot, along with the canned beans and 6 (or more) cups of liquid. Cook for 45 minutes.

The amount of liquid we call for makes a reasonably thick soup (if you’re adding the optional rice). For a thinner soup, add more stock or water.

Black beans go well with ham, so we sometimes use ham stock rather than chicken when we make this soup. If we happen to have leftover ham on hand, we might cube up a cup or two and add it to the soup.

You could also cook the beans with a ham hock. Remove the ham hock from the cooking pot at the end of cooking. Cut off the meat (and dice it), then return the meat to the pot.

We sometimes garnish this soup with diced hard-boiled eggs, red onions, or scallions. Crispy bacon bits make a nice garnish too, as does a dollop of sour cream.

We use kosher salt in cooking. It has larger flakes than regular table salt, so it’s less salty by volume. If using regular table salt, start with about half of what we suggest. But always season to your taste, not ours.

Habanero

“Tasty,” said Mrs Kitchen Riffs. “And nice to have a touch of the tropics on a cold day like this.”

“Yup, we could free arroz in this weather,” I said.

“Too bad we can’t fly down to old Havana for a mojito in the sun,” said Mrs K R.

“That would be great,” I said. “The idea inflames my heart with thoughts of romantic deeds!”

78 comments:

That's quite similar to the way I make black bean soup, though I'm afraid I find it tastier if a ham bone or smoked pork hocks got into the mix. I like to puree some of the beans for a thicker background, and garnish with sour cream too.

Hi Mae, this soup is probably made with a ham bone or pork hocks more often than not. And it's good that way! But the flavor of the beans really dominates (in a good way) in this version. :-) Thanks for the comment.

As many bean soups as you love making John I will bet you would love one of those newfangled pressure cookers. They're not a magic pot and I don't cook everything in them like some people try to do but for a couple of things, and beans are one of them, they are a nice alternative to make quick work of legumes.

Almost mid January in Colorado and we've had a week of sunshine and 60 degree temps and honestly I don't love winter but I'm sort of ready for it because I do love soups and this one looks fantastic!

Hi Barb, I keep thinking I should get a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. And probably will one of these days. But soaking beans isn't any trouble -- assuming I remember to do it! :-) Didn't realize you were having such warm weather, although we're having a few warm days right now -- probably getting your weather. It'll be cold again in a few days, though. Thanks for the comment.

John, I thought *I* was the only person left in the world without an Instant Pot! Call me stuck in my ways, but I'm just not convinced it will do anything I can't do with my slow cooker and Le Creuset pots. I'm a huge black bean soup fan (well, technically, I'm regular-sized), and this looks like a really good one. Must try it.

Hi John, were still hoping for winter weather here in AZ, but maybe I wouldnt be saying that if we ever experienced really cold weater, lol. Your black bean soup looks fabulous, love all the spice that you added.

Hi Cheri, it's been cold enough here that we've had to cut our daily walks short on a few days (we do that when it gets below 10 F; sometimes 20, if it's windy). Although after a walk like that, soup sure tastes good! :-) Thanks for the comment.

Freezing cold, -39C here this past Sat (but tomorrow they say +6C ???). Love black beans and loving hot soups right now! Never heard of a Cuban style soup before so happy for this discovery. I have to make a Cuban recipe soon for a challenge, thanks for the inspiration.

I'm pretty much dying of happiness that it's going to be in the 50s here tomorrow, but then it's back to the deep freeze. Time for more soup! Love that you added vinegar. It's amazing how soup needs just a touch of acid.

Oh, I love black beans so I know this soup would be great! I just made navy bean soup yesterday, wish I would've seen this first! I agree with Mrs Riffs, "fly to old Havana for a mojito in the sun." I always liked Desi Arnaz, but I'd like your soup better for sure! Take care

Nothing like a bowl of beans to warm you up when it's cold outside. Great choice! Love them black beans and this is such a great recipe. Have never added vinegar to a pot of black beans, but I would think it would perk that bowl of beans right up. I'll be giving that a try next time. Thanks John! Stay warm. We're having a relative warm winter in the 50's and 60 while the rest of the national is freezing. Strange weather!

I don't know what happened to the comment I was writing, but mysterious things happen when I type on my tablet, so apologies if this is a duplicate. I am going to puree some of the beans with a little of the soaking liquid from the cans (which I believe you referenced as "gunk") to thicken. And I have fabulously good left over ham to add to the mix, and a plethora of avocados to garnish. Which will probably require some sour cream. I will probably use sherry vinegar, which I am addicted to. Anyway, the whole point of this comment was to tell you that I am new, and that I love the informative (but not excessively long), open ended way you write you recipes. And your repartee with Ms. K.R. is quite tasty. Oh, and the weather here sucks. Thus, the soup. Susan

Hi Susan, we sometimes puree some of the beans when we make this soup (we just poke a stick blender into the pot before we add the rice, and zap the beans a few times). The ham sounds like a terrific idea, as does the sherry vinegar. Sorry about your weather, but this soup will cheer you up. :-) Thanks for the comment.

Howdy John, this soup sounds so tasty , I have my beans soaking , I like to keep a pot of soup on the back burner when it's cold for the kids . It's cold down here in Louisiana , would you believe south Louisiana go snow , we have been below freezing , that's unusual . I will get around to visiting everyone ... I miss the chats between you and Mrs. KR ...NEE

Love bean soups and stews as well. I love to use dried beans and soak them overnight, it is not hard at all and I like the freshness of it more than the canned ones, although canned ones are more convenient in many cases. Very good recipe John.

Hi Amira, we do use canned beans, but really prefer dried. I often will make a big batch of beans, then freeze them in small containers so I'll always have some on hand (just need to thaw; if using them in soup, just add them frozen!). Thanks for the comment.

I have been thinking about black bean soup too and yours looks scrumptious. I watched an old Emeril video last week with him making the soup. He garnished his with chopped hard boiled egg and finely diced red onion. Interesting.

Winter (and post-holidays) is the ideal time to include the simplicity of bean soup in the meal rotation. The Cuban-style flavor is a win too! I like how a splash of vinegar brightens the spice from the jalapenos. :)

This looks good, John. I made some black beans with your charro bean method last week and it was so good. Adding some bacon and bacon fat adds so much. I didn't have lard. If I wanted to make this recipe non vegetarian and use bacon fat and some bacon, would that work out all right, do you think? Change of subject, I am getting some ingredients together to try out some of your cocktails. Looking forward to those too! Thanks again!